A Journey In Hoenn
by Shara Raizel
Summary: After a kid in the Hoenn Region turns ten, they need to meet with the Pokémon Professor, Hiroshi Agasa, if they wanted to become official Pokémon Trainers. Follow Heiji Hattori, Shinichi Kudo, Kaito Kuroba, and Saguru Hakuba as they start their journeys and explore the world of Pokémon. Based off the Pokémon Saphire, Ruby and Emerald games.
1. Heiji's Makuhita

Oh no, not another fan fic idea! Yeah, sorry guys. I've been planing this fic for a long time and I'm so excited to finally begin posting this as we enter November and get closer to the release of Pokémon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby for DS3 (I can't wait!). I hope you all enjoy this as much as I have had writing it! :) I promise that the next thing I post will be for Drowning Memories, so all you digimon fans just sit tight a little while longer, ok? In the mean time, lets get to the Pokémon!

I do not own any of these characters, although I do own a copy of the Pokémon Ruby and Emerald Gameboy Advanced games. ^_^

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><p>Chapter 1: Heiji's Makuhita<p>

Heiji watched his father put his Pokémon through the morning drills – running, weights, and sessions with the punching bags, etc. All of Heizo Hattori's Pokémon are in shape and know how to fight. The Dewford Gym boasts the strongest Pokémon and has a reputation for being the toughest Gym to beat when qualifying for the Pokémon League.

This day was special though. Today the new Pokémon – the recently captured and hatched – were going to be put through the paces for the first time. The baby Makuhita bounced eagerly on their feet, ready to join their parents and older brothers and sisters. Heiji had his eye on one in particular, one that was only two feet tall and the shortest of the bunch. He was already imitating the punches he saw his older brother throwing at a punching bag nearby. This one was a fighter. He'd grow up to be big and strong.

"Heiji!" Heizo called out to his son. "Get those young ones started."

"Really?! Yes, Sir!" Heiji grinned, excited. Ever since he'd turned eight, his father had started allowing him to help more around the gym, slowly teaching him what it was like to be a Pokémon Trainer.

Heiji led the young and newly captured Pokémon to the track and obstacle course, showing them what to do, encouraging them as they got started. The littlest Makuhita dragged behind his siblings, but what he lacked in speed he made up for it with stamina and enthusiasm. He wasn't as strong as the others, Heiji noted, when they started on the weights. Makuhita was struggling to lift the one it had chosen for itself but he never gave up, even when it was time for a lunch break.

"You can stop now," Heiji told the Makuhita. "We'll get started again after we eat."

The little guy only grunted and kept trying to lift the weight.

"Lift with your legs," Heiji suggested, not really knowing what it meant but he remembered his father saying that when one of his Pokémon struggled with lifting some of heavier weights.

The little Makuhita shifted its stance, and tried again. He was able to lift it a little better, but the weight was just too heavy for him.

"Hey, don't strain yourself," Heiji said, worried when Makuhita started to shake. "Take it easy. We'll start you out with a lighter weight and work you back up to this one. Don't sweat it. You'll be lifting it in no time!"

The Makuhita allowed Heiji to take the weight away and plopped down on his butt.

"Maku…hita," he panted, nodding.

Heiji smiled and helped him back up, leading him over to the others who were starting to eat their lunch.

Over the next few weeks Heiji watched that Makuhita strive to become just as strong as the others. He admired the little Pokémon's fighting spirit and over time began to favor it. Heiji coached him more than the others, and the little Makuhita soon began to grow. He became faster, stronger, and slightly bigger than the other Makuhita he had hatched with.

"That Makuhita of yours looks good, Sweetheart," Heiji's mother, Shizuka, smiled. "He's doing really well."

"He's a fighter, that's for sure," Heizo agreed, joining his wife and son to watch the new Pokémon spar with some of the older and more experienced ones that Heizo regularly fought against trainers that came to the gym. "You've done a good job with that one, Heiji."

Heiji grinned proudly.

"Just don't forget to give that sort of attention, time and dedication to the others though, alright?" Heizo said. "It does no good to have only one strong Pokémon. When you become a Pokémon Trainer and start your journey, you're going to want a strong team, and not just a single strong individual."

"Yes, Dad," Heiji nodded.

For the next two years Heiji worked with many of the Pokémon his father had at the gym, but that one Makuhita was still his favorite to work with. He learned many things with that Makuhita about training Pokémon and after Heiji turned nine, together they helped weed out some of the weaker Pokémon trainers that came to challenge the Dewford gym. If they couldn't beat Heiji and his young Makuhita friend, then they didn't have a prayer against Heizo Hattori and his Hariyama for a Knuckle Badge.

Heiji learned a lot from those encounters with trainers. He couldn't wait to turn ten and set out on his own journey. But as his tenth birthday drew nearer, Heiji realized something. Makuhita was his dad's Pokémon. Heiji was only helping to train him and the others. When he started his journey to become a great Pokémon Trainer – a Pokémon _Master_ – he would have to leave Makuhita behind.

Heiji started to feel conflicted. As much as he wanted to start his own journey to become a Pokémon Trainer, he didn't want to leave his friend behind. Because that's what Makuhita had become. A friend. For two years they'd trained together, battled trainers together, and had even had some fun adventures together exploring all over Dewford Island. Heiji didn't want to imagine a life without Makuhita. He'd even given him a name – with his father's permission of course. He'd named him Toushi, which meant "fighter" in the old native language*.

But that day did eventually come. Heiji's parents threw a great party in celebration of his tenth birthday and many of his schoolmates and people from the village came to celebrate and wish him luck on his journey. It was going to be Heiji's last day on Dewford Island until he returned as an official Pokémon Trainer to challenge his father for a Knuckle Badge. That evening after the party he sat behind the gym with Toushi and said his good-byes.

Both of them were sad and wanted to cry, but they didn't. They had to be strong. Toushi was going to be one of Heizo's new starter Pokémon in gym battles and Heiji was going to become a great Pokémon trainer. Heiji promised his friend that when they saw each other again, it would be in a gym battle and that they would both fight their hardest. They owed each other that. Heiji said his final good-bye and went home. Most of his things were already pack for him that night, so after packing what little there was left, Heiji said good-bye to his father he left with his mother for the docks where they took the last ship out of town that night to the Mainland.

Heiji wasn't sure where they were, but it didn't matter much. Shizuka booked them a room at the local motel and as soon as the sun rose the next day, she rented a car and they drove a long way before finally reaching the small, but well-known town of Littleroot, home to the Hoenn region's Pokémon Professor, Hiroshi Agasa.

"Ah! Welcome my boy!" Professor Agasa greeted, ushering Heiji in. "You are just in time."

Heiji looked around the laboratory he found himself in and saw a few other kids who'd recently turned ten as well. Most had one or both of their parents with them like Heiji, and some appeared to be alone. Once a kid in Hoenn turned ten, they needed to meet with Professor Agasa if they wanted to become official Pokémon Trainers. Professor Agasa as a busy man, but he met with children on the second Saturday of every month to give them their first Pokémon, an official Hoenn Trainer's license card, and their Pokédex, which doubled as their Trainer ID. The reason Heiji and his mother had to leave so soon after Heiji's own birthday was because his tenth birthday had fallen on the Friday before the second Saturday. If they hadn't left when they had, Heiji would have had to wait another month before starting his journey.

"All right, children. Settle down now, eh?" Professor Agasa said before launching into a long speech about Pokémon, partnership, what it meant to be a Pokémon Trainer, and the responsibilities they would have to their Pokémon as their trainers. It wasn't anything Heiji hadn't heard before from his father already, so Heiji looked around at the other kids.

Most listened with intense concentration, probably hearing this speech for the first time. No one really stood out to Heiji much except for a pair of twin boys standing off to the side with their mother. They looked nearly identical except for their hairstyle. One had messy brown locks while the other's hair lay nice and neat and flat atop his head apart from a tiny cowlick that stuck up in the back. The messy haired twin was bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet, looking around the lab. His twin was listening to the Professor, like the others. Occasionally their mother would put a hand on the messy-haired twin's shoulder and he'd still for a moment and perhaps pay attention to what the Professor was saying for a few seconds before starting up again. His brother even elbowed him in the side at one point and hissed at him out of the corner of his mouth without ever taking his eyes off Professor Agasa. Heiji snickered when he saw that, earning a swat from his mother who told him to pay attention.

_Finally_ Professor Agasa was done speaking and he led Heiji and the other children over to a podium where a number of pokéballs sat waiting and he introduced the three starter Pokémon: Treecko, Mudkip, and Torchic. There was enough for everybody and he called the children up in order by birthday to select their Pokémon. Agasa always started with the oldest, working down to youngest so that those who'd waited a while could start their journeys first. This meant that Heiji would be last.

"May 4th, Shinichi Kudo," Professor Agasa called first.

A May birthday? And one at the beginning of the month? Heiji frowned. This kid should have started his journey two-and-a-half months ago. Why had he waited? Maybe he was from one of the towns way up north, or one of the eastern islands. Some kids had to travel pretty far to start their Pokémon Trainer journeys.

The neat haired twin approached the podium and examined his choices before going with a Mudkip. Heiji waited for the kid's twin to be called next, but a girl with an early June birthday was called next, and then two boys and another girl with mid-June birthdays.

"June 21st, Kaito Kuroba," Professor Agasa called, and finally the messy haired boy bounced up to pick his Pokémon – a Torchic.

Heiji was surprised. The two boys had different last names, so they were not twins or even brothers. They had to be cousins, then. There was too much of a resemblance for them not to be family in some way.

A girl was called next with an early July birthday, then a few other boys, and then finally…

"July 12th, Heiji Hattori."

Heiji approached the podium and examined his choices. All three would evolve into really awesome Pokémon, but Heiji only had one in mind. He picked a Treecko. He wasn't going to stick with one that was cutesy from the start. Treecko were well known for their fighting prowess from the beginning. It was the perfect starter Pokémon for Heiji, who'd grown up around the fighting type Pokémon his dad raised.

After that, Professor Agasa handed each of them their Trainer's license card, six pokéballs and their Pokédex, and wished them luck on their journeys. As Heiji and his mother left the Professor's laboratory, Shizuka started giving him as many tips as she could between the laboratory and her rental car that she'd drive back to the docks and return before taking the boat back home to Dewford.

"Mom! I got it, ok? Really. I'll be fine," Heiji smiled, hugging her. "I'll see you and Dad soon enough, and I'll be sure to call you when I get to Petalburg City."

"Alright," his mother smiled, hugging him tight. "Safe travels and take care of yourself and your Pokémon. Oh! I nearly forgot! Your father and I wanted to give you something."

"Mom! My bag is full," Heiji protested. "I don't think I can fit much more in it."

"You'll have room for this," Shizuka beamed as she pulled out a pokéball. "Here."

Heiji took the pokéball and released the Pokémon inside it.

"Makuhita!" it said.

"Toushi!" Heiji cried, hugging his friend.

"Your father and I agreed that Toushi is your Pokémon. It wouldn't have been right to separate you two," Shizuka smiled. "You both take are of each other now, you hear?"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

"Maku!"

"Good. Now go start your journey," Shizuka smiled after giving her son and his Pokémon a hug before getting in the rental car and drove away.

"Awesome! You ready, buddy?" Heiji asked.

"Makuhita!"

"Then lets go."

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><p>And that was chapter 1! Woo Hoo! Next chapter will be from Shinichi's POV.<p>

*the old native language* - I'm referring to Japanese, being where Pokémon originated and all that, not to mention the fact that all of the regions that the various Pokémon games take place in are based on the islands of Japan. In this instance, the Hoenn region was inspired by the Japanese main island of Kyushu. My fan fic is going to be based on my experiences with my English versions of the Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald games as well as the Pokémon seasons and movies of the anime that take place in Hoenn. If there are certain episodes/movies that you'd like to see in this fic, please let me know and I'll try to fit them in some how. :)

In case you guys are wondering, I'm using Bulbapedia for the Pokémon information and Detective Conan Wiki as my source for DC/MK birthdays, character info, and such. Funny enough Heiji doesn't have an exact birthday, but DCW says that it is supposed to be in July or August. I decided to give Heiji a birthday in July because then the Gosho Boys could all have their birthdays one month after the other: May (Shinichi), June (Kaito), July (Heiji) and August (Saguru).

I've already drawn some fan art for this fic of Heiji and Shinichi. It can be found on my deviantART account (links can be found on my profile page if you're interested). Thanks for reading! Feel free to drop a comment or message me if you have any questions! :)


	2. A Journey Begins

Chapter 2: A Journey Begins

"Promise me, Shin-chan!" Kaito demanded.

"Kaito, this is ridiculous," Shinichi sighed.

"Promise me!"

"Ok! All right. I promise," Shinichi huffed.

"Promise what?" his cousin prompted, eyes narrowed.

-Sigh- "I promise that I'll wait until we're both ten and can start our journeys as Pokémon Trainers together. Happy?"

Kaito beamed and hugged Shinichi so tightly that he had nearly suffocated and needed his Aunt Chikage to rescue him. They had been six years old when this had happened. Now they were both ten and ready to begin their journey together. Shinichi had kept his promise and had waited two-and-a-half months to visit Professor Agasa and become an official Pokémon Trainer. Kaito needn't have pestered or made Shinichi make that promise. Shinichi would have waited anyway. It was Kaito that had been the most excited about becoming a Pokémon Trainer ever since they were little kids. Kaito already knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to become a Pokémon Coordinator, like his father. Shinichi wasn't as sure. He knew he wanted to set out and journey and explore the world, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to do it as a trainer or as something else.

But that was the whole point of making the journey as a Pokémon Trainer, wasn't it? To discover who you were as a person as well as what kind of trainer you were, whether it is an actual Pokémon Trainer or a breeder, coordinator, researcher, watcher, ranger, and whatever else was out there to be. And as much as his cousin bugged him on occasion, he couldn't imagine setting out on such an adventure without him, his partner in crime since infancy. He couldn't remember a time he was without Kaito and didn't want to think about having to in the near future, so Kaito needn't have worried.

Shinichi's parents, Yuusaku and Yukiko Kudo were off on another journey of their own who knew where and his uncle, Toichi Kuroba, was away somewhere competing in a Pokémon Contest, so that left Aunt Chikage to drive Shinichi and his cousin Kaito to Littleroot Town when the day finally came.

When Professor Agasa called his name to choose his starter Pokémon, Shinichi approached the podium and studied his choices carefully even though he'd been studying them for two-and-a-half months now. He knew their stats, their potential, and what they would become when they evolved, and still he wasn't sure.

Treecko had potential if he wanted to pursue a Pokémon Trainer career. His mother had picked a Treecko when she'd started her journey and had had a good tournament run until she discovered her passion for Pokémon Coordinating. So Treecko was a possible choice.

Uncle Toichi and Aunt Chikage had both chosen a Torchic for their starters, and Shinichi had no doubts that Kaito would too. Shinichi didn't want to have the same Pokémon as his cousin though (because where was the fun in that?) and wasn't sure if he'd work well with an energetic little firebird anyway. So he could at least cross Torchic off his list of potential partner Pokémon.

And then there was Mudkip, the same as his father's first Pokémon. It was still Yuusaku's closest companion even as a Swampert. Mudkip were docile and known to be easy to handle for most beginner trainers. They weren't overly energetic and potentially high maintenance like Torchic, nor where they overly enthusiastic when it came to fighting like some Treecko could be, depending on the Pokémon and their trainer.

Shinichi eyed his choices one more time before grabbing a Pokéball that contained a Mudkip. Like father like son, as the saying went.

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><p>Kaito was excited and couldn't wait to begin his journey with Shinichi. He hadn't hesitated in picking a Torchic like his parents had. As soon as Professor Agasa was finished handing out the Pokédexs and their license Kaito let his new partner out as soon as they were clear of the lab. Shinichi did the same with his Mudkip.<p>

"Torchic!" the little bird chirped.

"Aww~!" his mother cooed. "This takes me back to the day I got Torch. My boys are all grown up!" Chikage Kuroba proceeded to hug her son and nephew tightly. "What are you going to name them?"

"Mo~m! Kaito whined, wriggling to break free of her grasp.

"Oh! Stand together with your new Pokémon!" Chikage demanded, rifling through her purse for her camera. "I'll take a picture to send to Toichi, Yukiko, and my no good lazy brother!"

Shinichi sighed and Kaito snickered. Shinichi's father, Yuusaku Kudo, was Chikage's older brother and she was always teasing him about becoming a brilliant but lazy Pokémon Watcher who was always running around Hoenn and the other regions dodging and evading his many publishers in the name of crucial Pokémon study and research.

Obediently, Shinichi and Kaito gathered their new Pokémon up in their arms and stood still for the picture. Chikage took several. When that was finally done, Shinichi and Kaito spent a little time just playing with and getting to know their Pokémon, while most of the other kids who'd visited the Pokémon Professor were leaving to begin their journeys. Chikage hadn't put the camera away and took plenty of pictures. The boys ignored her, and were please to find that their Pokémon were already friends. Torchic jumped and fluttered about energetically while Mudkip was settled down on the ground, nodding it's head and smiling, giving happy little cries while its friend chatted. Shinichi and Kaito watched their exchanges in fascination, asking their own questions to their Pokémon and imagining that they really understood them.

"Well," Shinichi sighed after about fifteen minutes. "I suppose we'd better get started."

"Yeah," Kaito said, stretching. "Lets go!"

They said goodbye to Chikage, promising to see her again as soon as they made it back to Rustboro. After a teary, but cheerful goodbye, Chikage finally let her boys go, getting into her car and driving away.

"So which way, Shin?" Kaito asked.

"Uhh," Shinichi mused, taking a look at the PokéNav that his father had sent him for his birthday. "We need to find Route 101. That'll take us to Oldale Town. I think it's that way."

Kaito nodded, more than content to follow Shinichi's lead on this. Shinichi was a details person and had planed out their whole trip. Kaito couldn't wait. This was going to be the start of something spectacular. He just knew it!

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><p>And that's Chapter 2! This ended up being in both Shinichi and Kaito's POV. I meant to upload this a couple weeks ago, but I kept forgetting about it, so now you all get it for Christmas as one of my many updates I've uploaded today! :) Also, I've finished drawing all 4 Gosho Boys, so go check out the links on my profile page. Due to popular request I'll also be drawing Pokemon Trainer versions of the girls too!<p>

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I got Pokemon Alpha Sapphire the week it came out, so as I go along and write this fic, expect that it's going to follow that game's storyline with Team Aqua. The game is so amazing and looks so cool! I was having flashbacks and feels the whole first day I played it and even now after having the game for a while I still get hit with a feel of nostalgia for the GameBoy version.

ALSO!

I've posted a new poll to help me prioritize which fan fics I should write regularly so that I can create a new update schedule for the new year. If you want to see regular updates for this, please go to my profile page and vote!


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